KJCKorea
Journal Central

This study aims to firstly, analyze how the recently broadcasted chaste woman and widow narratives in the television dramas The Matchmakers, The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract, and Knight Flower encompassed the ideology of chastity, and secondly, examine the implied messages. Throughout history, societies have assigned various semantic systems to women's sexuality, which have evolved with changing ages and social systems. The ‘Chaste woman and widow narrative’ - the focus of this study - now reflects viewers' critical thinking and preferences after being reinterpreted through dramas. Consequently, this narrative requires a comprehensive approach that includes both narrative and media levels. The three dramas set in the Joseon era, directly portray the violence of pre-modern moral ideology inflicted on widows, However, rather than merely illuminating these narratives, they attempt reinterpretation by addressing contemporary social phenomena such as career interruption for women, single parenthood, and discourse on singlehood. In this sense, they can be seen as modern media’s new version of chaste women/widow narratives, The widowed woman setting emphasizes altruistic love, highlighting the ability to overcome difficulties and sacrifice oneself for others. Additionally, the liberation and self-realization of widows, unattainable in the past, can be viewed as an accomplishment only possible in 21st-century television dramas. However, the commercial nature of television dramas brings limitations that overlook the violence of social institutions. While loyalty to a husband may have been an individual choice, thet ensuing life of confinement and servitude represents systematic violence. It is also noteworthy that three dramas romanticize women’s navigation of social oppression through romance plots. The liberation of widows in the dramas is only accomplished by eliminating the intentionally established absolute evil that relies on law and power. The fantastical endings for the chaste women/widows trivialize the issues of pre-modern moral ideology while simultaneously suggesting that contemporary challenges such as remarriage, singlehood, and issues of support and child-rearing can be easily overcome with 'true love’.

Chaste woman, widow, the Ideology of chastity, media characteristics, television drama, The Matchmakers, The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract, Knight Flower